Why One Diehard Apple Addict Switched to the Google Pixel 2 XL

As a video editor, shooter, and social media manager who worked for one of the largest media companies in the world, Apple made my life easy. I used an iPad as a teleprompter when shooting a video, ingested the footage on a Macbook Pro when it was done, and would finish the project back at the office on a larger iMac. I lived comfortably in Apple’s universe knowing all of these devices worked flawlessly because of the glue holding them together—my iPhone and I.

But after simultaneously running so many social media accounts, hundreds of Facebook live broadcasts, and using the phone itself as a real video camera, my valiant iPhone 6 Plus was getting tired—I had to carry around a mobile battery pack with it just to get through the day and desperately needed an upgrade.

The obvious choice was the iPhone X, but low supply and high demand during the release meant I couldn’t get the phone until a full month after I’d place my order (because I didn’t wake up at 3 a.m. like those who got it on launch day did). And there was no way I’d be able to live with an iPhone 8 knowing an iPhone X exists. So my options were to keep using my crippled iPhone 6 Plus another month, or go with an Android.

I ordered the Google Pixel 2 XL and haven’t looked back. Here’s why.

It’s not as hard as you might think to break free from Apple

One of the first things the Google Pixel 2 XL (from $850, Buy It Here) asks you to do when setting it up for the first time is whether or not you’d like to import your old iPhone settings to your new Google phone. Using a provided cable, you plug your old iPhone into the new Pixel 2 XL and bam—all your contacts, all your (free) apps, all your messages, all your photos, and just about everything else you’d be concerned about automatically transfers over. The only thing you have to do is deregister your phone with iMessage using Apple’s tool, which I recommend doing even before you take delivery of your non-Apple phone.

There's legitimate competition to Apple’s latest iPhone

Only when directly comparing the features between the iPhone X and the Pixel 2 XL did I realize how out of date the new iPhone feels compared to what Android has been doing for the past few years. Water resistant? Android has had it. OLED display? You bet. Fast charging? Been there done that. The only things the iPhone X has that the Pixel 2 XL doesn’t have is wireless charging, FaceID, and Apple’s comfy world—all of which felt like a novelty rather than a true feature.

The specs for me that matter are battery life, of which the Pixel 2 XL has 5.7 hours more of, meaning I don’t have to carry around that dreaded external battery pack. The camera is 1 MP bigger and sharper than the iPhone X, meaning I could use it as a backup on shoots if need be. The screen is 0.2 inches bigger with a better resolution, meaning the video clips and photos I look at will be shown in the highest resolution possible. But really in terms of hardware, the icing on the cake for me is USB-C charging—now my computer, GoPro, wireless hotspot, and phone all use one cable. So for me, the Pixel 2 XL has it over the iPhone X in terms of hardware. But that only tells half the story.

Android is way, way easier to learn than you’d expect

When I booted the phone up for the first time I was, frankly, terrified. Everything familiar about the iPhone—from the buttons, to the menus, to the way you open the camera—was no longer there on Android. But after playing with the phone for a few hours, you learn the main difference between Apple and Android is the level of customization.

On an iPhone, you have the home screen, the app, and then everything inside of the app. But on Android, Google lets you take what’s inside the app and put it on the home screen. Let me explain: On your iPhone, you routinely open up the Maps app, type in your directions, and then navigate home. On the Pixel 2 XL, you can create a button on your home screen that navigates you to your place—no inputting directions necessary. And you can do this with as many destinations as you want, saving the tedious step of typing in your address. And for the apps I use the most—the calendar, Spotify, Gmail—I gave them all their own section on one of my home pages. Now, instead of having to open the app, I can just look at all the info displayed right on the home screen.

Other apps let you do this, too. On the camera, you can create a shortcut for taking video, and a shortcut for taking photos. For the clock, you can create a shortcut to add a new alarm. The possibilities are nearly endless.

One of my favorite features on the iPhone, fingerprint scanning, is now new and improved on the Pixel 2 XL—relocating it to the back of the phone. When you pick up the Pixel 2 XL for the first time, your index finger falls exactly where the fingerprint scanner is.

Have I mentioned the price? A 128 GB Pixel 2 XL is a full $125 cheaper than a 64 GB iPhone X, not to mention the unlimited photo storage that comes with the Pixel 2 XL—meaning you could opt for the cheaper, 64 GB option for a full $225 savings over a comparable iPhone X.

What’s the catch?

I have yet to find a way to answer texts on my computer from my phone in a way that was as beautifully simple as when I had iMessage. That’s it. That’s the only thing I miss. If I knew what I know now about how easy Android is to use, I would have switched a whole generation ago.

If you’re still on the fence, Apple user, take a look at your phone right now. Chances are you’re using Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Maps, and maybe even Google Photos as a backup for your media (I had all of the above and then some). If that’s the case, you may want to reconsider coming to the other side. I’ll be here for the foreseeable future to welcome you, with open arms and a green message box.

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